Fish

Can anybody suggest something to toughen up the soles of my feet? They're really sore from training bare foot!

If you are jogging, you should be moving slowly, arms completely relaxed, heart rate no more than about 65% of max, and you should be able to breathe fairly naturally, and just about hold a conversation. You shouldn't even have to think about breathing, it should just come naturally. As you pick up the pace of your running, your heart rate will rise, and your breathing will become heavier and more rapid. You will be unable to talk. Eventually you will reach the threshold of your aerobic running (hence, runners call this a "threshold run"). This pace is uncomfortable, but you should be able to sustain it for a while., depending on your current fitness. Increase the pace again, towards sprinting, and you will begin to use anaerobic energy. This is uncomfortable after a short time, and if you try to keep it up you may well become dizzy and nauseous. Do bear in mind that fitness can be specific. So you can be fit for swimming, but find that you struggle when you run (and vice versa). If you are running at a relaxed pace and still getting dizzy, then you need to see your doctor.

Oh, and good on you for starting Karate. I hope you enjoy it.

I use a heavy weight (16 oz) for gradings, otherwise a lightweight most of the time. Heavy weight is better, but a bit too hot in summer. The tie on the lightweight ones break easily.

Consider your motivation. If you are well-motivated and have sound reasons for your goals, you are more likely to stick at your training until you make them happen. What happens if the girl isn't bothered by your physique?

Something to really look forward to on Monday and Friday evenings after work! An escape from the pressures of daily life and an opportunity to interact with other people, learning from those above me and being a role model to those below me.

The disadvantage with anger is it clouds your judgment.

To be honest, you won't know how well anything will work for you in a self defence situation unless you're put in such a situation and you have to use it. Most of us hope we won't be. But I think one benefit of MA training of any kind is to make you more confident. If you look more confident, hopefully you'll be less likely to look like a victim, and less likely to be picked on.

Dare I say "practice"?

It's a good opportunity for you to consolidate what you already know, whilst refining it to meet the requirements of your current sensei. Patience is a good thing - karate is a lifetime of progress (hopefully)!

I didn't know Shotokan was so fast!

As well as the good advice from others here: 1.Stretch daily, especially butt stretches, hamstrings and groin. 2. At first, you will be thinking hard about the techniques, but that tends to make them more stilted. You want to get to the stage where they are relaxed. Practise them low so that you don't have to worry about balance, and can work on getting that relaxed feel. 3. I found the following exercise helpful for roundhouse kick foot placement and generating the power from the hips: Part 1 Stand in your normal fighting stance (left foot forward right foot back). Now push with your right hip, lifting your right foot off the floor so that your hips rotate and your right foot ends up in front of your left. At the same time, spin on the ball of your left foot. At the end of the exercise, your left foot should point backwards, and your right foot should be in front pointing forwards. Now repeat by pushing through with your left hip and rotating on the ball of the right foot. Part 2 When you feel comfortable with doing the above in a relaxed way, perform a low roundhouse kick with the back foot as it comes round in front of you - don't chamber, just flick it out in a relaxed way to knee height or below. Again, try and feel the power coming from the hips, not the leg. I have found that exercise helpful for relaxing the kick, and making it "snap" out quickly. Of course, you have to do other exercises to build up balance, strength and other aspects of technique. I like the slow kick exercise that some others have suggested.

The body needs protein to repair damaged muscle and build muscle in response to training. Also, protein provides some energy, but the majority of your energy needs should come from complex carbohydrate (potatoes, rice, pasta, bread). What you should eat might depend on whether you are vegetarian. If not, lean meat (chicken), fish, dairy products and pulses are good sources of protein.

I think if you're really ill, you should give yourself time to recover fully before you start training again, otherwise you will just get ill again and it will put your training further behind. It is frustrating to rest when you want to train, but sometimes it is actually the quickest way to make progress.

The health risks and deficits associated with smoking are now well known, yet, surprisingly, people continue to kid themselves that it won't affect them adversely. However, most of the people I know who have smoked for any time regret starting. My own view is that you will never achieve your full potential in any sport if you smoke (by which I mean, if you're a regular smoker). However good you are, you could always do better if you quit.

It's not pollution, its the cold, damp air here in England. I changed my habits after I read an article that said when you sleep, your body temperature already drops, and if you have the window open, you are breathing in all that cold damp air, so giving you a bad chest. It made sense, so I stopped, and it worked for me.

Would I benefit from weight training? I have never done it before. I am 6 feet tall and weigh 175 pounds. I'm not skinny, nor overweight. I train twice a week at karate (3 and half hrs in total), run twice a week and swim once a week. Would a weights routine be a good idea? If so, what sort of training and how often? Any advice gratefully received.

Funnily enough, I had the same problem a few years ago. I was running regularly, trying to train for a marathon. Every time I ran, I would get a really bad cough afterwards, which would last for 10 days. So I couldn't run. When I got better, I would go out running again, and the same thing would happen. This might seem strange, but what solved the problem for me was closing my window at night time. For my whole life I had slept with the window open as a result of going to boarding school. When I started sleeping with it shut, I stopped getting the coughs and colds!

What is it that you're finding difficult? Are you just too tired when you get home? Are you nervous about your place in a new environment? Are you finding it too difficult to go back to karate after kickboxing? Or (conversely), is it too easy and therefore not enough of a challenge? Is your new club able to give you what you are looking for? All of us have ups and downs in our motivation levels and sometimes we just have to get on with it. On the other hand, if you can identify a particular underlying reason, you might be able to deal with it.

Yes I've had those days. But its making yourself go when you're not in the mood that builds the discipline needed to achieve your goals. Every time you go when you don't feel like it, your ability to control yourself gets a little bit stronger. Also, I've had some of my best sessions on occasions when I haven't felt like going beforehand!

£64 per month (which I think is about $100 US) myself and up to 4 kids to train twice per week.

Related to a point I made earlier in this thread - I think this re-chambering makes kicks look really good - by which I mean, controlled and with intent, during kata.

I have flat feet. Only problem it gives me is with my knees (because of the inward roll of my feet when I walk/ run). I think karate helps though.

But I've been looking at a book on TKD, and some of the kicking techniques are very similar (in fact almost indistinguishable) from Wado Ryu, except perhaps that in TKD they are higher. Other kicks are very different in their technique.

But I've been looking at a book on TKD, and some of the kicking techniques are very similar (in fact almost indistinguishable) from Wado Ryu, except perhaps that in TKD they are higher. Other kicks are very different in their technique.